Mustaqbal Sahaftuna “Future of our Journalism” continues the series of journalism mentoring sessions with Aroub Soubh

25 February 2016

Tasneem Zuhair

#Mustaqbal Sahaftuna

On Tuesday, February 23, 2016, and in the prism of the Future of our Journalism “Mustaqbal Sahafatuna” project; ARDD – Legal Aid team hosted communications professional Aroub Soubh in ARDD – Legal Aid’s offices in Zarqa as part of the series of journalism mentoring sessions. The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development, as part of the Civic Initiatives Support Program (USAID CIS) implemented by Family Health International (FHI360).

Aroub kicked off the session with an ice breaker, where she asked each of the participants to step up, introduce themselves and explain why exactly they enrolled in the programme. After that, she briefly spoke about her career path in journalism, media and social activism. Sobh said that ever since she was a child, she had a passion for reading, this has largely contributed to developing her capacity . Oroub firmly believe in the necessity to work with children for the purpose of preparing them to become change makers in the future. Thus, she began her career in the Jordanian television where she was a presenter for what later became one of the most prominent programmes on Arab TV screen "joy time" the prgramme later claimed numerous awards at both the regional and global level. Oroub moved during her career to work with various TV stations such as the Arabic Radio and Television Network (ART) and (Orbit). Oroub is also active on social media, where she has many followers from inside and outside Jordan.

"We must ponder on what is going on around us, think and express ourselves, through our own thoughts and our own words, and not just settle with repeating what is said to us by others" Aroub said during the meeting

The discussion was rich and interactive, it touched on a myriad of issues that directly concern participants in the project, Oroub talked about advocacy at the community level, especially for issues that concern all members of society. she also stressed the important role played by young people and citizen journalists in bringing about positive change, where she is an avid believer that change starts at grassroots level.

Aroub also explained the important role of social media in shaping public opinion and gaining support while advocating for community issues. Aroub used an example for this from her own experience, where she once put forward her candidacy for the parliamentary elections in 2007, relying mostly on social media for her electoral campaign.

Following the meeting, one of the project’s participants wrote on his Facebook page "Success is when you’re mocked at such a young age, then grow up to become someone most people cannot be, do not give up on your goals for any reason."